Nipple valve



31, 1965 J. J. SHOMOCK ETAL 3,203,569

NIPPLE VALVE Filed Nov. 5, 1964 JaJepfi u. Jbomack Herbal-f B. Mef/e, d 7 INVENTORS BY RM B W United States Patent 3,203,569 NIPPLE VALVE Joseph J. Shomock, Ravenna, and Herbert B. Mette, Jr., Strongsville, Ohio (both Dunhill International, Inc., 771 N. Freedom St., Ravenna, Ohio) Filed Nov. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 409,263 4 Claims. ((1 21511) This invention pertains tonipples, and more specifically to nipples used in conjunction with wide-mouthed bottles and a screw cap in the artificial feeding of infants.

When a nurser is being used by an infant, on evacuation of the nurscrs contents a vacuum tends to build up in the interior of the nurser. Numerous attempts have been made to overcome this pressure reduction. Otherwise the baby will be caused to suck air with resulting internal disturbances to the child.

Most modern day devices utilize valve means including a perforation in the flange portion of the nipple, allowing outside air to flow into the interior of the nurser, thereby eliminating the vacuum. These devices oftentimes utilize the pressure, exerted by screwing the cap, to regulate the size of the vent passage through the nipple flange, thereby controlling leakage as well as vacuum combat. For example, see US. Patent No. 2,942,746.

In spite of these efforts difliculty still exists in accomplishing the dual necessity of adjusting the size of the vent passage and preventing the clogging of same. It is believed that such difliculty may result from present devices requiring a portion of the screw cap to bite into the nipple flange, thereby varying the size of the aperture. Therefore, this invention has as its prime object the presentation of a nipple having unique valve means permitting vacuum relief.

A further object is the accomplishing of vacuum relief with readily regulatable means for distorting the passageway of air flowing through said valve means.

These and other desirable objects will become more obvious on considering the appended description, claims and drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of the nipple of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a section through the flange portion of the nipple of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 2A is an expanded view of the valve portion of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of the nipple, bottle, and cap, the cap covering the entry into the flange without distorting same;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view showing the nipple, bottle and screw cap assembly, the cap distorting the nipple, but the nipple being unflexed; and

FIGURE 5 shows the same articles of FIGURE 4, but the nipple flexing to allow vacuum relief.

FIGURES 6 and 7, comparable to FIGURES 5 and 6 respectively, utilizing a nipple not having a peripheral ridged flange.

Considering now, FIGURE 1, the nipple is seen to in clude a hollow tubular barrel generally indicated at 10. At the upper end of the barrel is the slightly enlarged tip portion 11. Of course, the tip is usually perforated for the evacuation of fluids. The barrel is joined at its lower end to radial flange 20. Below tip 11, barrel 10 flares outwardly to form shoulder 12. The barrel is then reduced in diameter, as at 13, which portion joins flange 20. Underneath shoulder 12 may be a plurality of lugs 14 each having associated therewith spacer bar 15. The lug is used to position the nipple with respect to a screw cap by resting atop thereof, said cap being centrally perforated. The spacer bars radially space the nipple from said screw cap and allow air to pass therebetween and eventually to pass through the valve means hereinafter discussed to relieve the vacuum buildup within the interior of a nurser.

FIGURE 2 shows nipple flange 20 to have a reduced web portion 21 adjacent the juncture of flange 20 to barrel 10. This reduced portion'expeditiously permits the flange to'flex when any vacuum causes a pressure gradient to exist thereacross. p

At the outer periphery of flange 20 may be upstanding annular bead or ridge 22, see FIGURES l5-. This ridge, as disclosed in presently pendinglUS'. application Serial No. 160,501, may, be utilized with bottles: having a rabbeted upper outerfperiphery but, however, is not the subject of this invention, in as much as the-valve means contemplated co iild be utilized'withahipple having 'no such ridge, see EIGURES 6 and 7. I "1 Intermediate; iidge 22 and web 21 willfbeiseen the heart of this invention,-;.namely valve 30 (see especially FIG- URE 2A). Flange-20 will be seen to be vertically perforated, as at 311*Surrounding the upper limits ofperforation 31, is cylindrical flange extension 32, having side wall 33, defining "ahollow interior space 34. This space 34 is reduced'iin "cross-sectional area at its lower reaches until it approximates and joins with perforation 31, form- .ing a continuousppenirig through flange 20 and extension ConsiderFIGURES 3, 4 and 5 showing operation of the nipple when assembl'ed with a bottle and a screw cap, said bot tle being designated 40 and the cap 50. Bottle 40 is exteriorly threaded near its top for mating with a standard interiorly threaded screw cap designated 50, said cap having a central perforation 41, see FIGURE 4, in its top 42 for accommodating the barrel portion of nipple 10.- It is believed that many presently used nursers having'a perforatedv flange for vacuumrelief, utilize pressure exerted by the undersurface of the cap against the nipple flange to regulate the size of the vent hole. Usually, ,the caps undersurfaceincludes an annular head which bites into the upper-sur-face of the nipple flange. Some leakage difliculties ihave been encountered in that the cap must be scre e onto the bottle to'a suflicient degree to cause the cap-.bead to bite into the nipple flange thus causing rubber flow and resulting regulation of the vent hole size, Thusyif the cap is not screwed on sufliciently, an air gapwill exist between the undersurface of the cap top and the upper surface of the nipple flange even during non-use with the possibility of leakage. Yet, oftentimes bead-nipple interaction is desirable in that such interaction is effective in fixing the nipple flange with respect to the bottle. A furtherproblem exists when the nipple may be constructed of material other than rubber, such as certaingplastics. Sufliciently greater pressure must be exerted on-said latter mentioned materials in order to cause any regulation of vent-hole size by flow. For example, vinyl resinous compounds producing a read ing on the Shore A scale in the range between 50-65 have performed satisfactorily utilizing the improved valve means presented herein. FIGURES 3-5 show, in sequence: (1) the unfiexed nipple when the cap 50 is screwed onto bottle 40 just sufliciently to block the upper entrance into cavity 34; (2) the cap threads further meshing with the bottle threads causing distortion of aperture 31 and the continuous conduit through flange 20, the flange being unflexed; and (3) the same relative position as in FIGURE 4 except that the flange 20 is being flexed, by vacuum build up within the container, thus permitting air to enter cavity 34, down into the container, thereby equalizing pressure. By varying the pressure exerted by cap 50 on the nipple flange the distortion to the conduit leading through the nipple flange may be varied, thereby regulating the effective size of the vent path through said flange. Since the effective size of the vent path determines the ability of the device to equalize the inner and outer pressures, the presence of the distortable extension of the nipple flange provides an effective means for combatting vacuum buildup, especially helpful when the nipple is constructed of plastic materials such as vinyl resins. FIGURES 6 and 7 depict a similar series of operations utilizing a nipple not having an annular ridge, such as 22, around the flanges periphery.

In summation, the nipple of this invention includes a perforated flange having an upwardly extending cylindrical extension, the inner cavity thereof being an extension of and communicating with said perforations. Such an extension, being distortable, provides an effective means aflixed to a nursing bottle and acted upon by a screw cap, for permitting venting of the nursers interior, such venting overcoming any vacuum produced within said nursers interior caused by usage thereof.

While this invention has been described in terms of a principal embodiment, this is not to say that numerous modifications thereof are not possible without departing from the spirit of the invention, the only limitations thereon being the following appended claims in which we claim:

1. A nipple comprising a generally tubular barrel and an annular radially-extending flange afiixed to one end thereof, a first passageway through said flange, and a second passageway communicating with said first passage- -way, said second passageway being at least partially encompassed by a vertically-extending thin-walled deformable extension of said flange.

2. The nipple of claim 1 wherein said flange is substantially less resilient than said extension thereof, and the upper walls of said extension, when not deformed, are of substantially uniform thickness.

3. In a nurser, the combination of:

a bottle,

a cap, said cap having means for affixing same to said bottle,

a nipple having a barrel portion and an annular flange afiixed to said barrel, said flange being positioned atop said bottle by said cap when said cap is mated with said bottle, said flange including means for venting the interior of said bottle, said venting means including a passageway through said flange, a second passageway communicating with said first passageway, said second passageway being at least partially encompassed by vertically-extending, cylindrically configured deformable walls.

4. The nurser of claim 3 wherein said first and second passageways are collinear when said walls are not deformed, and said passageways are not collinear when said walls are deformed.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. 

1. A NIPPLE COMPRISING A GENERALLY TUBULAR BARRELL AND AN ANNULAR RADIALLY-EXTENDING FLANGE AFFIXED TO ONE END THEREOF, A FIRST PASSAGEWAY THROUGH SAID FLANGE, AND A SECOND PASSAGEWAY COMMUNICATING WITH SAID FIRST PASSAGEWAY, SAID SECOND PASSAGEWAY BEING AT LAST PARTIALLY ENCOMPASSED BY A VERTICALLY EXTENDING THIN-WALLED DEFORMABLE EXTENSION OF SAID FLANGE. 